Bombardier begins construction on German bogie center

The new center of excellence is due to begin operations by mid-2014. The site will bring together Bombardier's engineering experts with the necessary tools and means to continue to develop and test the Flexx bogie portfolio to better fulfill customer requirements, in particular in terms of strict certification and homologation processes.

The Siegen site will form a unique production and innovation hub. It will comprise Bombardier Transportation's bogies headquarters, the new Bogie Technical Center, the existing final assembly area, Wheelset Center, and crash repair and overhaul center.

This contract includes high voltage cabling from the state grid for the new 16-mile metro line. Alstom is the main supplier of Kochi metro after it has been awarded previous orders for 25 Metropolis trainsets, signalling, telecom and electrification. Commercial service is scheduled to begin in March 2016.

The contract, which is for a ten-year period with the option to extend another 5 years, covers maintenance and spare parts on 74 four-car Class 357 ELECTROSTAR trains and is valued at approximately $213 million.

The train wreck, which occurred in the early morning of March 24, 2014, when the operator allegedly fell asleep, injured more than 30 people and caused roughly $9 million in damage. The lead railcar had to be cut up to remove it from the escalator.